External evaluation summary results 2013

2010-2013 fact finding Alliance Anti Trafic in Vietnam. External project evaluation by Phil Marshall.
The evaluation underlines both the strong and weak points of the project, but nothing negatively impacts the quality and the efficiency. AAT is very proud of the success achieved on expectations thought unbelievable to meet or to prove.
During the period, AAT received 4 honorific medals approved by the Vietnamese Prime Minister (one for Cao Minh Quyen and 3 for Georges Blanchard).

“AAT is recognised as a pioneer in specifically addressing trafficking issues long before the Government began formally acknowledging the phenomenon”
“AAT’s response to emerging issues and elements of its programme can be seen as pioneering.”
“AAT’s relationship-building with local and regional actors is one of its strengths. In the experience of the evaluators, few if any other international NGOs are able match its work in such a sensitive area.”
“AAT has abundant knowledge on the factors that render women vulnerable to exploitation, the modus operandi of their exploiters, the behaviours of the consumers, the political issues influencing policies and actions and the general mentality of the Vietnamese population towards these issues and its impact on women’s rehabilitation needs. Few organisations can match this length or breadth of experience.”
“Stakeholders highlighted AAT’s contribution in a number of areas, some of which predate the current programme. Particular emphasis was placed on the contribution that AAT had made to the new Law on Prevention, Suppression against Human Trafficking.”
“Vietnam Women Union further highlighted that they saw the HCMC centre as a national model, and had based Peace House, the government shelter in Hanoi, on this model.”
“Officials also highlighted the feedback from staff in provincial areas during capacity building workshops as helping to guide policy development”
“AAT’s work is regularly recognised in the international arena by both the Vietnamese government and multilateral agencies.”
“AAT seeks to promote sustainability through working through government counterparts.”
“AAT activities address areas of clear and pressing need.
“Staff explained that their coordination of repatriation involved fewer delays than formal procedures via IOM. This was confirmed at the final workshop, participants describing AAT’s work as “very fast.”
“AAT’s work involves promoting systematic change to policies and practices”
“AAT routinely undertakes follow-up monitoring with those it assists, up to a period of two years. This is, commendably, considerably longer than most victim support programmes and recognises that reintegration is a long-term process”
“Government stakeholders consider that AAT plays an important role in the repatriation of Vietnamese victims of trafficking not assisted by other organisations.”
“The Women’s Union highlighted that AAT can deal directly with police in both the sending and receiving countries and recommended that it continue to work in this area”
“AAT is also able to facilitate repatriation for cases where victims have not been formally identified as such by State authorities”
“AAT’s involvement in the provision of sex education in schools serves to lay the foundations for greater awareness in a country where deeply engrained taboos result in widespread misinformation regarding sex. This is an important prerequisite for discussions around sexual exploitation, including trafficking”
“Respondents also compared this programme favourably with other initiatives”
“In one school, the deputy headmaster attributed the total absence of school pregnancy cases during the two years of the programme to the sex education classes”
“AAT is explicit in its desire to be a “development agency”
“AAT’s work is highly valued by all of the counterparts interviewed”
“Counterparts praised AAT’s work in capacity building”
“AAT makes strong attempts to minimise costs of activities.”
“One of AAT’s strengths lies precisely in the fact that it is a small, grassroots organisation and able to operate with a certain level of autonomy”.
“Its flexible, responsive nature, allows AAT to facilitate the repatriation of those who are not adequately served by State procedures, while at the same time advocating for an improvement to such procedures.”Main weaknesses fact-finding & recommendations:
–AAT should review its focus as an organisation, with a view to clarifying its specific niche.
-For future projects, AAT should seek to ensure greater clarity in objectives, activities and expected outcomes, as well as the linkages between them.
-AAT should seek to adopt and use precise quantifiable and achievable indicators.
-AAT should review and strengthen data collection processes and those of its core partners.
-AAT should consider developing a format in which individual casework can be presented to illustrate its achievements.
-AAT should strengthen its reporting to donors.
-AAT and partners should further prioritise support for the improvement and expansion of victim support activities at community level.
-AAT should consider more closely integrating trafficking issues into its outreach work.
-AAT should seek to locate future awareness raising activities in a broader behaviour change context.
-AAT should work with government counterparts to identify how best to continue sex education programmes and integrate these more widely into the education system.